San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Monday that quarterback Trey Lance suffered a sprained knee in Sunday’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
The injury could sideline the first-round rookie for San Francisco’s Week 7 game against the Indianapolis Colts. The 49ers have a bye in Week 6. Based on MRI results, the team doesn’t expect the injury to sideline Lance long term.
Lance started on Sunday in place of Jimmy Garoppolo, who suffered a calf injury in Week 4. His timetable for return isn’t clear. Like Lance, his injury isn’t expected to sideline him long term.
Lance took over for Garoppolo in the second half of Week 4’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks when Garoppolo wasn’t able to return from his calf injury. He got his first NFL start on Sunday, a 17-7 loss to the Cardinals. He completed 15 of 29 pass attempts for 192 with no touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for 89 yards on 16 carries.
Shanahan has repeatedly stated his plan to keep Garoppolo as the team’s starter when healthy while easing Lance into the NFL with situational game appearances. He repeated that stance after Sunday’s loss, which saw the 49ers fail to score until the third quarter. If Garoppolo and Lance both recover in time for Week 7, expect Garoppolo to return to the starting role.
The 49ers have dropped to 2-3 after following up a 2-0 start with consecutive losses to the Green Bay Packers, Seahawks and Cardinals.
